What is caffeine citrate used for in newborns?
Description. Caffeine citrate injection is used to treat short-term apnea of prematurity when premature babies (infants between 28 and 32 weeks gestational age) stop breathing. Apnea of prematurity is caused by the baby’s breathing centers not being fully developed. Caffeine is the most commonly used medication for treatment of apnea of prematurity. Its effect has been well established in reducing the frequency of apnea, intermittent hypoxemia, and extubation failure in mechanically ventilated preterm infants.Furthermore, data from the included studies revealed that caffeine citrate had a lower risk of recurrent apnea and was less likely to fall out of the recommended therapeutic range than aminophylline.Caffeine citrate is the generic name for the medicine, Cafcit® (KAF sit). Caffeine citrate can help to keep a premature infant from having periods of apnea (AP-nee-uh). This is when a baby stops breathing for a short time. The medicine works by stimulating the part of the brain that controls breathing.Caffeine antagonizes adenosine receptors and acts as an efficient respiratory stimulant in neonates. Owing to its persistent effects on adenosine receptor expression in the brain, neonatal caffeine administration also has significant effects on maturation of the respiratory control system.
How to administer caffeine citrate in neonates?
An intravenous loading dose of 20mg/kg caffeine citrate is given once, followed after 24 hours by a daily intravenous maint- enance dose of 10mg/kg (FIGURES 1 and 2). Occasionally the maintenance dose is subsequently increased to 15mg/kg daily. Both are given as an undiluted bolus over one to five minutes. The recommended loading dose of caffeine citrate is 20 mg/kg orally or intravenously followed by 5 mg/kg daily oral (or IV over 30 minutes) maintenance doses. The recommended loading dose of theophylline is 5–6 mg/kg, followed by maintenance doses of 2–6 mg/kg/day divided into two or three doses.This review of trials found that caffeine has similar effects to theophylline but has a larger gap between levels that are therapeutic and those with toxic effects. Caffeine is more easily absorbed and has a longer half-life that allows for once daily dosing.
When is caffeine given to neonates?
Common recommendations regarding caffeine usage are based on the methodology of the CAP study; caffeine should be administered within the first 72 h to preterm infants at high risk of apnea, with a loading dose of 20 mg/kg and a maintenance dose between 5 and 10 mg/kg (6). Caffeine citrate injection is used to treat short-term apnea of prematurity when premature babies (infants between 28 and 32 weeks gestational age) stop breathing. Apnea of prematurity is caused by the baby’s breathing centers not being fully developed.What is this medication? CAFFEINE (KAF een) treats apnea, a condition that causes short pauses in breathing, in premature babies. It is often used for a short period of time. It works by stimulating the breathing center in the brain, which helps the lungs breathe consistently.It is effective in the management of apnea of prematurity in premature infants. Caffeine for apnea of prematurity reduces the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very-low-birth-weight infants and improves survival without neurodevelopmental disability at 18–21 months.Caffeine citrate (Cafcit) is a medication that works well for treating breathing problems in premature babies, but it’s usually used for a short period of time. This medication is typically given to your baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It’s available as an injection into the vein (IV).Caffeine is effective in the prevention and treatment of apnoea of prematurity and IH, and reduces the incidence of chronic lung disease, cerebral palsy and cognitive delay in very preterm infants.
How long to give caffeine citrate?
It is recommended that caffeine citrate administration should be stopped when the patient has 5-7 days without a significant apnoeic attack. Caffeine is the most commonly used medication for treatment of apnea of prematurity. Its effect has been well established in reducing the frequency of apnea, intermittent hypoxemia, and extubation failure in mechanically ventilated preterm infants.One of the complications of prematurity is that babies simply forget to breathe and simply do not remember that they are supposed to breathe all the time. Carefully giving neonates caffeine stimulates the brain, helping them to remember to breathe, and stimulates their diaphragm and lungs.The caffeine citrate injection, used for apnea of the premature newborn, was initially approved by the FDA in 1999. According to an article from 2017, more than 15 million babies are born prematurely worldwide. This correlates to about 1 in 10 births.Caffeine is the preferred drug for treating apnea of prematurity. Caffeine is also the most acceptable prophylactic agent to facilitate successful extubation in preterm infants.Caffeine citrate is one of the most important medicines in use in NICU. Its efficacy, tolerability, wide therapeutic index, safety and its use in apnea, mechanical ventilation as well as bronchopulmonary dysplasia has made it the “Silver bullet” in neonatology.
What is the duration of action of caffeine?
The amount of caffeine needed to produce these effects varies from person to person, depending on body size and degree of tolerance. The desired effects arise approximately one hour after consumption, and the desired effects of a moderate dose usually subside after about three or four hours. Caffeine is well absorbed by the body, and the short-term effects are usually experienced between 5 and 30 minutes after having it. These effects can include increased breathing and heart rate, and increased mental alertness and physical energy. Depending on the individual, these effects can last up to 12 hours.While adults metabolize caffeine in about four hours, the half-life in newborns can be as long as 100 hours. Caffeine remains in an infant’s system for weeks, not hours.Short-term effects Less than 200 mg of caffeine (1 or 2 cups of coffee) can make you more alert, put you in a better mood, and make you feel less tired. It can also improve physical work and thinking. The effects usually start within half an hour and can last up to 12 hours.Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it increases activity in your brain and nervous system. It also increases the circulation of chemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline in the body.